Murders in Gensokyo
by Kaiser dude
Summary: A normal day for Marisa takes a sudden turn the next day after she hears about murder. More victims start appearing every now and then. The victims are those close to her, and she begins to fear if/when she is next. Darkfic. NOT a hatefic. Themes: death, tragedy, suspense, psychological
1. Typical day

Author's Notes: I do NOT hate, love, or prefer one character over another; this is a fic I did for fun while tapping in to knowledge of psychology to help shape this fic. Expect tragedy… and the worst part is at the end; trust me, it's going to be murder on me to write it with enough details… hell, writing the details on the killer's thoughts and reasoning is going to put me in a hospital. However, this first chapter sets up the plot. As for disclaimers, they won't do any good nowadays with laws changing to suit individual cases said laws CAN'T cover.

* * *

Marisa took a deep breath as she flew off in the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Today's going to be another great day! I can just feel it; the books in another part of her library" the self-proclaimed 'ordinary witch' admitted to herself with enthusiasm.

All was normal, her stealing Patchouli's books on a day-to-day basis. Her making a mockery of the fairies, her annoying the hell out of Reimu when she's really bored, and teasing some of the more timid girls from time to time like Nitori or Patchouli (The former after trying to make off with an incomplete yet interesting-looking device, and the latter usually when she's caught by the person in question, or her assistant, Koakuma).

Speaking of fairies, the usual punk spotted Marisa and flew up to catch her.

"Hey, Black-White! Rematch! Eye've been training!" boasted Cirno, the self-proclaimed 'strongest' fairy of Gensokyo.

Marisa, being the person she is, couldn't help but smirk at the challenge.

"Heh, this should be fun. Alright, let's see what you got this time, slurpee-for-brains!" the witch retaliated confidently. _"Heh, that good-looking drink from one of Patchy's books… I wonder if there's a Cirno where it came from that helped make it look so good_"

And so, the battle against the two began.

The ice fairy starting off as usual with basic danmaku shots, and the witch using her already absurd speed to weave in and out of the safe spots; it was yet another battle for the witch, and a challenge to the baka.

"Feh, starting off with your usual? What a disappointment" the witch teased.

The ice fairy's tactics stepped up after a while, but the patterns remain for the most part the same. The difference is she's using icicles in addition to the danmaku. This still is no biggie, as it's smaller in size but more powerful in power, and yet the smaller size makes it easier to dodge since Marisa knows her hit box. Well, her hit box doesn't necessarily mean she avoids damage; it just means she avoids an instant Knock-Out. The same applies to Cirno in terms of hit box instant knock-out.

"Adding icicles now? Not enough to take this witch down, baka!" the witch taunted as she shot back with star-shaped danmaku. Marisa made sure to fire them off at Cirno's direction as accurately as possible, but she missed.

The fight was only at the beginning. Clearly, Cirno was trying a little too hard to start with.

The ice shards now took over the danmaku bullets entirely, making the attacks more pierce-inducing if hit.

The witch just grinned the same as she usually does when faced with a cocky foe.

"Heh, too easy!" she chuckled as she weaved in and out of the bullets. Actually, if it was rain, she'd still be dry.

The fight dragged on, Cirno losing in terms of accuracy and luck, even though she's tenacious. Of course, her spell cards were the same as before, but just one-upped in the amount of danmaku, and more versatile patterns.

Give or take, the battle lasted only a few minutes, considering it was Gensokyo's idiot ice fairy.

"Damn it… You're good, Black-white!" Cirno puffed as she realized her defeat, and retreated.

"Heh, what do you expect? I'm the best there is when it comes to magic" Marisa boasted to the fairy.

All she did was playfully knock on her head with her tongue sticking out in response.

"You probably could be queen of the fairies with me with that power" Cirno declared.

Marisa, being the person she is, just chuckled and replied, "I'll think about that"

Nodding, the witch flew off towards her destination, leaving the ice fairy behind.

However, unbeknownst to either of them was someone lurking out of sight, and watched with envy at Marisa's interaction with Cirno.

* * *

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the 'ordinary' witch busted through a window, making a loud entry into the library.

This startled the librarian, Patchouli, and her assistant, Koakuma, out of their wits, until they realized it was just Marisa as usual.

"Koakuma… please deal with our pest; I'm rather focused on this" the book-reading librarian sighed, and ordered her assistant.

Koakuma sighed, knowing the result would be the same; the kleptomaniac leaving with the loot as fast as she arrived. "Alright, Patchouli"

The 'little devil' went to work to fend off Marisa, but was surprised to see the 'pest' in question act buddy-buddy with her.

While this is out of her routine, she decided to try talking her way out of trouble with a little teasing.

"Yo, Koa-chan. How's life treating ya, ze?" emphasizing the 'ze' part like some 'charm' for seduction, she asked the 'little devil'.

Koakuma clearly had to resist the temptation Marisa suddenly threw on her, and made her point clear after clearing her throat. "You know Patchouli hates it when you barge in and steal from here"

The librarian in question, however, had a slight blush on her face, hidden behind the book she's reading so you can't see it without moving the book.

"What's wrong with a few books, Koa-chan…" and now, she asked this with a seductive tone, "Would you please… let me go… with just a few?"

This time, Koakuma couldn't take it, and fell to the tease she put up. Her face flushed red in embarrassment over naughty thoughts. Even if they were both girls, Koakuma struggled to keep those thoughts out of her head since she's working right now.

However, it was too late, as Marisa was out of Koakuma's sight. The little devil looked around for her, but saw the thief doing the same teasing to Patchouli.

Upon Marisa getting in close proximity, the librarian's blush was forced into anger (kind of tsundere) at the person she liked being so close.

"Will you just get lost already, Marisa? You've already caused enough problems, please just leave" the librarian coldly told the kleptomaniac.

Her inner feelings, on the other hand, were being suppressed. Those feelings were that of bliss at being near a loved one, and would've given her library up just to be with her. Even if they were both girls, she couldn't help but feel this feeling of bliss.

"Please, Patchouli… will you let me off… with just a few?" Marisa asked teasingly this time, getting a little too close where intimate relationships thrive.

This time, Patchouli was the one who was trying even harder to suppress her inner feelings from being let out; her responsibility of being the librarian and her feelings of being with a person she liked were in conflict. Her immediate response was that of shock, as though hearing something so out of whack it wasn't funny.

Sadly, by the time Patchouli could get her thoughts in order again, Marisa was long-gone.

The librarian sighed in disappointment first, and then shook her head as though saying 'good riddance'.

"_If you're going to stop by here, at least say 'hi', have a chat, and THEN leave_" she thought to herself before returning her attention to the book she was reading prior to the intrusion.

Outside the SDM, however, was someone watching the intrusion, and was clearly VERY upset at the sight. It wasn't Meiling, as she was sleeping on the job again, and Sakuya was tending to the mansion mistress.

* * *

"_I can't believe how easy that escape plan was_" Marisa chuckled to herself as she flew back to her house. "_But love is impossible between girls; there's no way we can raise a family like those families in the human village or in the outside world. What is Patchy thinking anyway?_"

The witch continued contemplating her 'escape plan' deeper, as she hasn't thought it all the way through; it was made up on the fly when she got caught.

Sure, the plan was to tease the girls a bit, but she hadn't thought about the consequences if it backfired.

What if, say, one of her victims fell to the tease so far in that they'd make it real?

…

The chances of that are EXTREMELY unlikely. She knew the girls wouldn't be THAT desperate; she knew many of the girls personally.

"Well, whatever. I might as well hit a few places while I'm out" she said to herself after contemplating the matter enough and before hitting a few places she doesn't normally loot from.

* * *

Among the places she tried looting, with some of them failing, were the underground (failed, but Koishi fell like putty to Marisa's teasing), Kappa Village (Nitori was happy to see her, but had to guard her inventions nonetheless. This raid failed anyway), and the Hakurei Shrine (Well, there wasn't anything worth stealing, but she did annoy Reimu nonetheless).

The underground raid wasn't that easy, since she was only caught by Parsee, Satori, and Koishi. There were a few items of interest to her down there, such as a spare control rod that belonged to Reiuji Utsuho, some old vases that looked valuable, and a few books on stories about life above ground. When caught by Parsee, she just gave the excuse of dropping by to say hello. Parsee was rather indifferent, and didn't pay her any mind after a spell card battle.

Being caught by Koishi was probably the first lucky break AFTER the encounter with Parsee, since she was an airhead who does things on a whim. Well, at least it was lucky because this satori was probably the only one who shut away her power willingly. Marisa wasn't thinking straight around her due to her power of subconsciousness. When she WAS, it was small talk with her to get away from being caught. Unlike Parsee, who she knew wouldn't listen to favors, she knew Koishi was somewhat of a social person unlike her sister. So, she played the tease to Koishi, and it worked a little. Koishi's blush was a sign that the tease succeeded a little.

Sadly, that tease was also the moment she was busted by Satori, Koishi's sister. You can't hide anything from her, so there was no point in teasing, or reasoning. Marisa just high-tailed it out of there upon seeing her.

* * *

At the Kappa Village, she was only welcome by Nitori at the time. Her reputation of 'borrowing' things and returning them when she dies isn't anything new.

Nitori was more shy than the others, but her slight affection for Marisa as a friend helped her overcome her shyness around the witch. That shyness usually turns into defensiveness when her inventions are ridiculed or criticized. Same goes for Marisa when she comes to snag something of hers.

The witch said her hello, winking seductively for her teasing. Nitori, like Koishi, blushed at her implications, until she snapped out of it and saw some of her knick-knacks not where she left them. She realized this too late to save them; her being distracted gave her friend the opportunity to make off with her incomplete inventions.

"DAMMIT, MARISA!" Nitori shouted after realizing she was had.

* * *

Now she was at the Hakurei Shrine. She knew there was nothing of value most of the time, but the best she could snag were some snacks, or a donation that was made while she was away, or even a set of spare clothes.

This wasn't the case today; Reimu was here, sweeping the shrine. Marisa knew her chances of snagging something and teasing her way out of it were next to 0, so she didn't bother trying.

As such, she just spent time with the shrine maiden talking about Gensokyo as a whole and if there were incidents to be solved.

The sun was setting by the time they realized it, and the witch took off after her farewells.

"I'm gonna say hi to Alice and call it a day for the haul" Marisa said to herself after she felt satisfied with her deviation from the normal routine.

* * *

At Alice's house, which was near the witch's house anyway, the homeowner was away for some reason, but on a desk was an unusual-looking doll..

"Ya-HO! Ali-chan!" Marisa shouted as she barged in the front door (breaking one of Alice's windows isn't easily repaired as the SDM's windows since Sakuya is the one who reverses the time the window had).

Unfortunately, Alice was nowhere in sight

The doll she was working on didn't look like Shanghai, Hourai, or Goliath doll that she usually made; it looked like a doll you'd expect to find at a toy store of sorts, that was intricately designed to be independent from its creator. Although it was close to completion, Marisa couldn't help but look at the new type of doll.

That was, until she almost picked it up... which was the moment Alice returned home.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, MARISA!"

Came Alice's voice to Marisa.

The witch, instead of startling, became startled. Out of reflex, Marisa turned around defensively, but stopped when she realized it was only Alice.

"Yo, Ali-chan. I'm just stopping by to say 'hi'" the black-white chuckled nervously (who wouldn't after being startled?).

"Leave that doll alone, Marisa. It's an important experiment that might determine whether I can make my dream a reality" she told the kleptomaniac sternly.

Marisa, being the person she is, couldn't help but try her 'tease' again.

"Why not, Ali-chan? Why not lend me that doll? Please?" Like the previous times today, she emphasized the 'please' part endearingly.

Much to her disappointment, it didn't work.

"No, Marisa. If you wanted one of my dolls, you would've taken a Shanghai doll; I have more of those than I know what to do with. That one on the table you tried to steal is too important for me" Alice said rather coldly, "If it succeeded, it would've been the first fully independent doll without having to use my magic or strings"

"_Tch, almost had her_" the witch thought to herself in disappointment.

As if on cue, the Shanghai dolls in the house stopped what they were doing and tried to force the unwanted guest out of the house. This worked for the most part, if not for Marisa's struggling.

"Wha, hey! Put me down!" Marisa screamed as she was being hauled out of the house.

The Shanghai dolls literally threw her out, and retreated back inside.

* * *

Marisa's house was only a couple steps away from Alice's place, so she hoofed it with her loot.

Dumping the sack of goods in her disorganized home and looking them over, she was disappointed when none of the stolen goods caught her attention. Even the book Patchouli was reading, and swapped when the librarian wasn't looking didn't sound interesting. However, there was one thing she DIDN'T snag in the sack; a Shanghai Doll. Unlike the one Alice used, it wasn't reliant on strings; it wasn't even 'alive'. It was just the doll itself without being hooked up by strings or magic.

The only explanation was Alice putting one of her unused Shanghai dolls in the sack when she wasn't looking.

"Huh? I don't remember taking one of her dolls" she mused to herself. "Well, whatever; might look good on the shelf in my room"

While it was an unexpected loot, there was nothing unusual about it; no magic, no strings (literally), and no way to control it without either of the two mentioned. She did find it to be a good find, and took it up to her room. Setting it on the nightstand near the bed, she would have something nice to look at when she sleeps now.

Unbeknownst to her, an incident was starting that very moment; one that would seriously wreck her life permanently. And not just hers; it would wreck the VERY peace Gensokyo was founded upon.

* * *

At Alice's house, around that same moment, the seven-color puppeteer was frustrated at the unintentional damage Marisa did to the delicate doll she was working on.

"Geez, it was supposed to absorb magic around it; pure magic unaffected by those around it" she sighed, looking over the damage done, intentional or not.

The only damage, from her perspective, is a certain type of magic that was undesirable picked up from Marisa's presence.

The doll itself was miniature, about half the size of Shanghai doll. Not to mention almost useless after a bit of planning gone down the drain.

"Honestly, I don't even know what it does now; whether it's self-sufficient, or incompatible with magic, I probably won't know" she complained in disappointment.

Well, her thoughts were cut off when she heard a knock at the door. She rarely gets visitors, but will try to help them out if possible.

* * *

The next day, many of the fairies of Gensokyo were in a panic, flying around as though their heads were chopped off (figure of speech).

Marisa, on her way to the Scarlet Devil Mansion again, couldn't help but get annoyed at the amount of fairies all worked up in a panic.

"Geez, what's with them today? It's like they're being hunted by a fairy-eater or something" she commented to herself as she flew along.

Among one of the fairies she flew into was Daiyousei.

"Help, HELP! It's terrible! Cirno, CIRNO... she's..." the 'greater fairy' tried to get Marisa's attention desperately. Unfortunately, Marisa wasn't paying much attention to it; she was focused on looting the SDM again.

The witch brushed aside the fairy trying to get her help, but Daiyousei was way more persistent than usual; rather, she wouldn't be this persistent without a big enough reason.

"Hey, Dai-chan, you're annoying, you know that?" Marisa said to Daiyousei rather bluntly.

"Now's not the time for that; It's Cirno! She's dead!" the 'greater fairy' said to Marisa abruptly, still trying to get the witch's attention despite being not heard properly.

The kleptomaniac just chuckled at hearing this.

"You know fairies just respawn after dying, right? It's no-"

"I know that, but it's not the case this time; Cirno's magic, and life is gone. She CAN'T respawn like brand new!" Daiyousei interrupted.

The shock of hearing the news of a fairy dying and NOT coming back to life a while later was hard to swallow; no, it just didn't make sense. How does one steal magic AND life of a victim?

Not only this, but the fairies hearing about this unusual phenomenon certainly warrants panic. They lived peacefully without fear of permanent death, but after they heard about a method of permanent death for them, it's no wonder they would be fearful.


	2. Scarlet Rampage

Author's notes: Things start getting into more detail here. Last chapter ended with the mention of murder, now it starts treading between T and M ratings. As a reminder, the last chapter will not end on a nice note. If you do not like bad end fics, please leave now. Also, it's NOT intended to be a hatefic. A darkfic is NOT the same as a hatefic.

* * *

Hearing about the murder of Cirno was unheard of to Marisa; sure, there were many who disliked her because of her attitude, and many who liked her, but she doesn't know a single person in Gensokyo who would go to such lengths to kill a fairy.

"Wait, you said her magic and life were taken... and that's why she isn't coming back?" Marisa, shaken up, asked the panicking fairy.

Daiyousei was still panicking, trying hard to stay calm. "Cirno... Cirno... dead... how... why..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Dai-chan!" Marisa interrupted, almost slapping the panicking fairy silly.

Daiyousei, after the slap, stopped her panic and took a deep breath before trying to explain everything as best she could.

From her perspective, fairies respawn shortly after dying. What she didn't know was that they relied on magic to respawn, and their life was similar to anyone else's. for someone to steal the magic and then kill the fairy was unheard of. Although stupid, the fairies DO know when there's a real threat to their species. Not only was it one of their kind, but one of their strongest to boot.

"Why don't you show me what happened to her? I might know what happened" the witch asked her.

Daiyousei nodded and took Marisa to where Cirno was found dead.

* * *

Misty Lake, home to Cirno. Actually, Cirno was found at the same spot Marisa last remembered, although permanently dead. Cirno's body was lying on the front, with the back topside, so it was hard to notice anything at first.

Marisa couldn't see anything wrong with her at first, until she turned the dead fairy's body over.

A blood stain covered the location the heart was supposed to be, so piercing the heart would almost guarantee an instant kill. Even so, that might work for humans most time, but the witch didn't expect it to work on youkai, like fairies. Well, that wouldn't work normally on fairies since they'll respawn anyway, but someone KNEW how to steal magic.

"She and I had a danmaku battle yesterday, and she was fine after being beat... but who would do this? She's just an idiot, that's all" the witch muttered in thought.

"But... but... Cirno..." Daiyousei, despite her attempt to be brave and help explain things, was having a hard time stomaching the situation.

"It's alright, Dai-chan. If anyone can stop the killer, I'm sure it's Reimu. I'll do what I can to help her, but... all I know is that it's someone who can steal magic. Life isn't something you can steal; it's something that can be destroyed" she told the fairy rather bluntly.

Daiyousei, still panicking, learned something about other fairies at that moment; it was magic that kept them respawning, not loss of both life and magic. With this knowledge, she went to try and calm the other fairies by explaining the situation to them.

* * *

Later, at the SDM, she informed Meiling about the incident she came across, and warned her to be careful and to pass the message along.

Hong Meiling simply nodded and agreed to let Remilia know there's a killer on the loose, and NOT just a regular killer; it's someone with a grudge.

"Alright, I'll let Ojou-sama know about this" Meiling stated firmly.

After letting the SDM know about this, she left the area to let Gensokyo know about this.

* * *

Starting with the Hakurei Shrine she informed her about the real murder, and her initial findings. Someone was clearly not obeying the danmaku rules to settle issues between them, and this really upset her.

After that, she told the tengu about the murder, and how it wasn't a simple defeat for the fallen; it was a REAL loss of life. Fortunately, they were able to comprehend the situation quickly, and sent a few spare guards to relay the news to the Kappa. Marisa was grateful for this extra action they did; it would make spreading word of this even quicker.

It wasn't so much as the Gensokyo idiot that was murdered that surprised everyone she told; it was the fact that someone was disregarding the rules of settling disputes using lethal methods not authorized by Reimu. There was no way the shrine maiden would allow exceptions to the rule, even if it was to take down the violator.

Next place she hit up to alert the others was at the Moriya Shrine. Specifically to let Sanae know what happened, so she can consult her goddesses about it, and also alert the others on Youkai Mountain.

There was no doubt about it being murder; she read about it in several books she snagged from the SDM. Though in the case of youkai, it required more effort to deal with them than simply a fatal wound; you needed to know how to weaken them to actually deal fatal blows.

There were a couple other places she sounded the horn to, like Eientei and Mayohiga (Yukari was sleeping, so she passed the message to Ran).

Lastly, she hit up the Myouren Temple to let them know what happened and for them to be alert. Shou nodded in acknowledgement, and promised to let everyone know to be careful around the temple area, and around the human village.

* * *

Marisa was infamous for petty things; mostly theft of random knick-knacks, shiny things, and especially books. Murder was NOT in her list of behaviors, and she wouldn't BE the murderer if she told everyone about the problem.

No... no killer would alert people about their doings so quickly after the deed was done; it'd be next to impossible to hide that from others without giving off signs of having done it.

Marisa was a little shaken up after hearing the peaceful world of Gensokyo was now being shaken up with a serious issue.

"_Why Cirno? She's just an idiot who isn't meant to be taken seriously... there's no point to killing her_" Marisa thought to herself.

Though this was true, she couldn't help but wonder why the Gensokyo idiot would be killed, and after going through so much trouble to make the death permanent.

* * *

Later, Marisa got word of a bigger problem; Remilia Scarlet has apparently gone berserk. The one to deliver the news was Reimu through her yin-yang orb communicator.

Why she went crazy is beyond her, but Reimu asked her to find a partner and help get on the case as soon as possible. Marisa already got on the horn to the SDM, but didn't expect the killer to hit there just after she warned them.

No, it doesn't sound normal for a killer to just waltz up to the infamous Scarlet Devil Mansion and cause a commotion, knowing full well that the mistress has little tolerance for trouble.

Usually, she gets away with it before Sakuya or Remilia knew she was there, but the few times she DID get caught were those moments luck saved her from pain and/or scoldings.

Patchouli might know what's going on, but it'd be difficult to get near the mansion without the risk of being pierced by Remi's Spear the Gungnir. Nitori wasn't really an adventurous type, save for the few occasions she was asked to take part of. This case was out of the question since she knew she'd just be a hindrance with her timidity. Reimu's got Yukari this time to back her up. She could probably ask Sanae, but she'd just get lip. There was Mima, but she's busy causing havoc in Makai. Her best bet at this point was to get Alice to back her up.

* * *

At the seven-colored puppeteer's place, Marisa began explaining the situation from what she heard from Reimu.

Alice didn't seem surprised at hearing the news.

"Remilia Scarlet? Going crazy? When I was asked to make a delivery there for clothing, she was quite irritated when I spoke with her; almost like I had to watch what I say, or risk offending her" Alice replied with a 'not amused' face.

"This is serious, Alice. Yes, she's easy to get on the bad side of, but she doesn't go crazy to that level without a reason. Reimu and I are going to find out why after subduing her" Marisa told her rather hastily.

All Alice did was click her tongue in dissatisfaction before agreeing. "Fine, but I'm NOT helping Remilia; she and I apparently don't get along well"

Alice's inner feelings were of bliss and of contempt. Her feelings of bliss were for being able to be on another incident with Marisa; her feelings of contempt were for dealing with Remilia. The result of this was her following along with her usual serious demeanor, but with conflicting reasons to tag along.

"Thank you, Alice. Thank you. Now, let's get this over with so you don't have to deal with her"

Marisa was saying this as though a major problem was resolved, even though this really wasn't the case.

Without mincing words any further, they flew off towards the SDM.

"Oh, that's right. I don't know if you heard yet, but there's a killer on the loose; be careful" Marisa told her friend, just in case she didn't get the message yet.

"Oh, a killer? Thank you for letting me know; if I DO find the killer, I will take care of him or her" Alice stoically responded.

* * *

Misty Lake, once home to Cirno, the idiot of Gensokyo, is now just a lake.

Reimu and Yukari were waiting just as Marisa and Alice arrived.

"Good, you're here" Reimu began, "Yukari gapped herself into the library, and found Patchouli and Koakuma dead, same as Cirno. I doubt murdering them would cause Remilia to go THIS crazy; she hasn't had a chance to investigate the other areas yet, as she's getting knives everywhere she goes. Something must've happened to her to get her this out of control"

"Isn't it just her temper tantrum? I hear people with a lot of pride throw them, either immaturely or maturely, when things don't go their way, or if they lose something important to them" Alice retorted.

"Hey, Alice, this isn't the time for your dislike of her; she's gone crazy, and I don't think I need to tell you of what would possibly happen if she lets loose the red mist all over Gensokyo, right? It'd turn all of Gensokyo into her zone, with it being very difficult to stop her" Marisa scolded her partner.

"Tch, fine. So Patchouli and Koakuma are dead, and Remilia is on a rampage; this is just a normal incident to me" Alice was really being difficult today, and showing it.

"Alice, this is serious; she ISN'T like this without a legitimate reason; she's rather mild-mannered, and difficult to deal with because of her pride. However, I know her to not blow up over minor things like Marisa's rai-" Reimu began, but was interrupted when Yukari brought bad news.

"I just checked outside; China's also dead" Yukari interrupted after checking through her gap again.

Hearing the news of this definitely starting to make sense.

"Yukari... check HER room... if what I fear is the case... then this is more serious than I thought, and the chances of her rampaging against Gensokyo will be imminent" Reimu dreaded the thought as she asked Yukari to check a certain place.

"Wait, what do you mean... are you saying... Flandre might be dead?" Marisa asked, hoping the answer will be 'no'.

"Are you saying she might be going insane because her sister might be dead?" Alice asked, this time being more serious and trying to take an interest.

Yukari popped her head out of the gap, and shook her head sadly.

"That would explain it" Reimu sighed after the confirmation from Yukari, "Alice, you know about Remilia's family, right?"

Alice nodded halfway. "Somewhat"

"You should know Flandre is her only remaining blood family alive. You should know Remilia swore to protect Flandre with her life, and to try and be the best 'big sister' she can be despite her flaws. The loss of Flandre might've been the trigger to her rampage. I don't blame her; if my last remaining family died in my house, I, too, would go crazy" Reimu admitted, "Sakuya is the closest thing to a best friend she has. Patchouli helps manage the library so she doesn't have to, but that's no reason for her to go crazy. Koakuma was a familiar Patchouli summoned to help with the physical labor due to the asthma Patchy has. Meiling is no big loss, since she's a gatekeeper who can't do her job well"

"So, she went crazy because of a loss of important family, huh... I wouldn't mind if Shinki disappeared; her parenting methods were too strict only for me" Alice retorted.

Marisa was starting to get irritated with her words. "Alice, that's not the point; it's her pride being broken by an extreme tragedy she swore to prevent at all costs. It would be like someone killing the person you love in front of your eyes, and walking away without punishment"

Alice clicked her tongue, and started to fly towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"I'm going ahead to deal with Sakuya; you three deal with Remilia. I am NOT dealing with her personally" the puppeteer muttered as though trying to force a compromise.

"Hold on, Alice. Are you sure you want to deal with Sakuya alone? We're a team, and I'm not letting you fight her alone; she gave me a hard time during the incident they first arrived here" Marisa stopped her backup from leaving to do her own thing, and half agreed to her plan. "Reimu... Alice and I will take care of Sakuya. Please stop Remilia as soon as you can, and we'll be there to help you out once we subdue and find out more from Sakuya"

"Alright, I'll leave Sakuya to you then" Reimu nodded, "Yukari and I will deal with Remilia and calm her down"

Yukari nodded in agreement, and the two teams split up to take care of their respective enemies.

* * *

Many a fairy maid were slaughtered, but they came back to life shortly afterwards. They were 'killed' by Remilia's Gungnir in her rage, which was not the same 'killing' that's being done by the loose murderer.

Alice was somewhat further ahead than Marisa, and she seemed to be quite persistent in dealing with Sakuya alone.

"Marisa, I said it back there, and I'm saying this now; just go help deal with Remilia"

"Hey, Alice. Stop saying that; you KNOW they're enraged right now, and taking one of them on alone is suicidal. We deal with this as a team" Marisa stopped her from saying anything further of 'I am doing this alone'.

Alice sighed in defeat, "Very well, Marisa. We'll fight Sakuya together, but you back up Reimu; I want no part in stopping Remilia's temper tantrum; I already told you why"

"Fine, you don't have to deal with her; just help me at the least deal with Sakuya. I'm already worried about that killer, and for Remilia to go genocidal on top of that just isn't good" the witch tried the compromise to allow her personal opinions be respected while maintaining priority.

Once again, Alice sighed. "Fine, but just help me from behind; I want you at your best so you can help Reimu"

"Alright, Alice. If you think you can take on an enraged Sakuya, then go ahead. I'll help from here"

Marisa and Alice both arrived at the mansion, and was immediately greeted by a barrage of knife danmaku. Unlike the incident almost 10 years ago, the barrage was WAY more than the highest difficulty they attempted; it was even beyond what outside forces could make harder than already difficult.

Sure enough, Sakuya was showing no sign of stopping.

No, she looked like she had no choice but to attack anything that moved. This didn't look like anything Remilia would order her to do normally, and they knew it.

"Sakuya, if you don't want me to hurt you too badly, you must tell us what's going on with Remilia" Alice told the head maid almost sternly.

Sakuya didn't seem to be paying much attention to Alice, and attacked with a few knives as a warning shot.

Alice jumped back to avoid them, but noticed that after doing that, she was surrounded almost perfectly with knives in every direction.

"Wha?" Alice stated in surprise as she looked for an opening to try and wriggle out of that. The usual spots are small gaps between the hitboxes of the danmaku in some instances, and others might not be obvious. Alice remembered fighting with Marisa one time, and some of the attacks came from behind, or could only be found when backing up for a few extra seconds. Other times, it would simply be behind her.

However, this time, there wasn't any small holes to escape from; this was not only serious, but it also meant that Remilia seemed to be serious about their perception of the situation.

* * *

With Reimu and Yukari, they were already fighting against Remilia. The mistress of the mansion seemed to be devoid of emotion and reason. No, her eyes were full of despair and hatred at the same time. It was revenge she wanted, but her revenge is severely misguided; she doesn't even know who murdered her little sister, let alone why. This was what the incident resolving duo thought.

Remilia, although berserk, couldn't kill anyone the same way the offender did. She had some level of sanity left, although not much, but it wasn't enough for Reimu and Yukari to try and reason with her.

That part would be difficult; reasoning with her in her current state. No, it's next to impossible for someone that's berserk to listen.

From the get-go, Remilia was throwing out her spell cards repeatedly, and without a reasonable limit on difficulty. Like Sakuya in the other part of the SDM, her danmaku was not being held back at all; Remilia was not holding back, and it seemed the loss of Flandre broke her into unleashing her full power.

She brought out up-scaled difficulty versions of a number of her spell cards.

"Heaven's Punishment: Star of David!"

Remilia called out her first spell card in her full fury. Normally, this spell card would be about average difficulty, but in her anger, it was beyond what Reimu was used to; there was little to no room for error if she was going to fight back.

The spell card itself was more elaborate than it's usual difficulty; it was like a web of the Star of David within itself. Actually, Reimu couldn't move too much her hit box bumping into the Star of David web.

Yukari, being the 'on-a-whim' youkai she was, simply gapped herself to the safe spots a little while before she could get hit.

All Reimu could do was shoot back as best she could every possible moment she could. No, there was no time limit on the spell cards this time. This really lived up to the difficulty Remilia was dishing out in her current state.

The number of large red danmaku orbs were at least quintuple what she dealt with, and little room for movement around her limited safe spots laser design.

"Whoah!" Reimu gasped as the unexpected difficulty caught her off-guard; this was beyond what she was used to.

Even though her reflexes are top-notch, this was tougher than her hardest challenge, and with Gensokyo on the line in the worst-case scenario should the vampire take her hatred out on everyone.

The danmaku bullets were primarily random at her full rage, thus making the battle more difficult than she was warned about.

Yukari even had a hard time finding the safe zones that Reimu could barely find on the fly. If she wanted to, she could bail on the fight and gap herself to safety, but she knew she would get it later when Reimu survives and resolves this.

Ran would definitely be helpful, but the gap hag knew that this battle was different from the incidents before; Ran as being an 'option' token won't help much, as she also would be counted as a 'player', and wouldn't be able to help out if KO'd too many times.

For right now, Yukari gapped her danmaku from her safe spots into the general area where Remilia was.

Eventually, Reimu and Yukari took out the first of many spell cards Remilia would surely use. However, this was but a small accomplishment at Remilia's current state.

* * *

Back with Alice and Marisa fighting Sakuya, the head maid was clearly not going to back off.

"Ojou-sama's... orders... are absolute"

The head maid muttered rather emotionlessly.

No, it wasn't that her will was broken; it was that her devotion was so strong, she couldn't even consider saying 'no' to her mistress. Whatever it was that Remilia ordered her to do, Alice and Marisa were going to find out later.

Alice wasn't putting up much of a fight against Sakuya, and yet still able to hold her own against this level of difficulty.

"Wow, Alice, how are you able to hold against THIS level of difficulty when even I haven't seen an all-out offensive like this in a long time?" Marisa commented.

"I asked a few friends for a challenge, eventually throwing out harder difficulties until we started throwing Overdrive difficulty... though this current one is beyond Overdrive; it's all-out, no holding back, intent-to-kill difficulty. I'm thankful my unu sual request for a harder challenge gave me the ability to hold on right now"

Marisa, upon hearing this, started to feel inferior even though she tries her hardest to keep up with Reimu.

"_I think I understand, Alice. You are trying hard for someone you want to protect, and that person might be out there. I'll do what I can right now; Gensokyo's counting on us_" Marisa thought to herself.

Although she couldn't do much to help Alice, she did take a few shots while Sakuya was distracted.

Sakuya, at this point, was throwing out her third spell card at the 'intent-to-kill' upscaled difficulty.

"Illusion World: The World"

This would be where luck REALLY comes into play, had it been Marisa fighting; not only were the danmaku scattered and being thrown at random, but there was WAY too many of it for her to keep track of. Even on her hardest run the incident about 10 years ago (this very one), she hasn't seen such ferocity in Sakuya.

"Marisa, get out of here for now; this one I don't think you can be safe just being there" Alice shouted back to her friend.

Marisa, at this point, was starting to feel helpless. To her, Alice has improved so much while the witch herself was goofing off. She looked up to Reimu as a goal to try and keep up with.

Marisa couldn't help but reminisce at this point at how helpless she once was, even in the past.

Her old mentor, Mima, was rather strict, and set expectations too high. No, it was Mima's pride as a powerful sorceress that refused to allow delays in the harsh training. It was when Reimu came along that Marisa found something she was unable to have prior to meeting Mima; a friend, and someone who could help her at her own pace.

It was thanks to Reimu that Marisa gathered the courage to stand up to her former mentor and leave. Though that was a bad idea at the time, she did learn a few things during her training.

However, at this point of time, she wasn't going to sit back and fall behind; she was going to fight with Alice despite the danger she knows might be severely against her favor.

"No, Alice. I'm fighting with you" Marisa declared and flew down to join Alice.

Alice, upon hearing this, was shocked for a moment, which almost caused her to get hit by one of the stray knives in the momentary blind spot she was surprised at hearing Marisa not taking Alice's words seriously.

The kleptomaniac's skills, though very sharp in dodging, was just barely able to let her fight back; no, just dodging this difficulty's danmaku was hard enough. Red, blue and Green knives were present, but Marisa was only able to keep track of the red and blue knives, as well as the regular danmaku because of the sheer number that was out there.

Alice's job of fighting seemed to have increased from simply fighting back to also coordinating Marisa to the safe spots, if any, that Sakuya might have unintentionally left.

Had this been a game of points, Alice would probably have gotten half the total maximum by now with all the grazing.

"Marisa, you idiot! This isn't the time to be heroic; this is seriously dangerous! If we fail, there is no restarting this incident!" Alice screamed in frustration at Marisa, "Move to the right and continue dodging from there!"

Marisa wasn't one to argue in desperate situations; she took Alice's orders and did as told. Much to her surprise, the spot she was in was bombarded with danmaku had she stayed there a moment later.

The self-proclaimed 'ordinary' witch, while dodging what she could, took a deep breath and muttered a silent 'thank you' to Alice who seemed to have seen this difficulty predicted.

* * *

With Reimu and Yukari, the battle was still going on; Remilia was at her third spell card upscaled to 'Scarlet Devil' difficulty.

"Divine Punishment: Young Demon Lord!"

At the difficulty Remilia was dishing out in her rage, it would probably be more fitting to call it 'Damnation: Demon Lord's Fury'.

Like the Star of David spell card that was upscaled, this spell card had lasers in a web that didn't dissipate after a short while; it was an actual web of lasers.

However, the web was WAY more random in directions, meaning movement was limited to the small area Reimu and Yukari were ensnared in (the latter could jump between safe zones with her gap, but there's no telling if Remilia is firing large danmaku in that direction).

"Reimu! Remilia's muttering her hate, but make of it what you will..." Yukari relayed to her partner as she also tried to shoot back with her danmaku.

As Yukari mentioned this, Remilia's danmaku (barring the lasers), ceased for a while.

"_No reason... Flan gone... Mother... Father... everyone... no purpose... revenge_"

These were the words Reimu were relayed from what Yukari could make out during the moments Remilia wasn't attacking.

Reimu was starting to believe that keeping Flandre sane and under control was Remilia's reason for being mentally sane; she lost her parents to Flandre's unexpected power going out of control, and as such, blamed herself for that. She locked her sister in the basement of the mansion out of fear of a similar tragedy from happening again.

With Flandre dead, this begs the question of why Sakuya hasn't reversed time for Flandre yet to save her. Had Remilia thought of that?

No, it might not have crossed her mind due to the shock of trauma of losing important people to her being the immediate thing on her mind.

That wouldn't make sense if that was the case; she would've already had asked that. Reimu was sure of it.

These thoughts and speculations were cut short when Remilia snapped out of her silence.

The danmaku barrage began again, although it seemed to have doubled in number, on top of the extreme amount it already had at her full force beyond the 'Lunatic', or even 'Ultra' difficulty.

Reimu was already restricted in movement, but the added danmaku bullets on top of the absurdly large amount before the moment of silence made dodging double the challenge.

Yukari, with her power, simply gapped herself from one safe spot to another when Remilia shot in her direction.

There were a few moments Yukari could sneak Ran in a blind spot and shoot a few danmaku bullets, but those were rare.

Remilia, normally, would fight on a difficulty appropriate for the situation, but with what Reimu and Yukari could gather, this was not the case due to the trauma she was hit with today. Not just any trauma; it was the worst one she tried hard to prevent. Of course this would make the normally level-headed vampire lose control.

* * *

Marisa nearly lost a life or two without Alice barking directions for the witch's safety.

Sakuya was starting to get desperate; she didn't want to fail Remilia right now; her orders from her were her life. If she fell now, she would be a disgrace to Remilia in her weakest moment of her life thus far.

The head maid stopped her assault to try and reason with Alice and Marisa. The incident resolving team, cautious, also stopped their assault.

"Even though... I have to stop you... I'm afraid Ojou-sama can't be helped at this point. She doesn't want anyone here... I'm asking you... please... leave" Sakuya asked rather desperately at this point.

Marisa and Alice, though fighting, heard this desperate request from Sakuya.

"We aren't leaving, Sakuya-san... If Remilia decides to wipe out Gensokyo in her anger, what then?" Marisa asked her.

"Then so be it. My life... belongs to Ojou-sama. If she wishes to wipe out all of Gensokyo, then I will comply. I did talk to her against it, but that's why I said she can't be helped" Sakuya answered rather sternly, "If you insist on stopping her, then I must keep you from her at all costs"

Alice already knew that their views are in conflict, and both sides are not going to budge unless one defeats the other.

"Marisa, Sakuya is making it clear she wants us away from Remilia, but is trying to test us if we ARE capable of stopping the vampire. She's against the idea, but is showing her dedication through her words" Alice explained to Marisa.

The witch took in Alice's explanation as fast as she could, and the confirmations were there as Sakuya nodded to the puppeteer's words.

"I see... Sorry, Sakuya, but we're going to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening, whether you want us to or not" Marisa said to the head maid.

Sakuya didn't say a word, but resumed her assault with the last spell card she had with her.

"This is the last spell card I will use. If you are going to stop Ojou-sama, show me your strength" Sakuya declared.

"Maid Secret Skill: Killing Doll"

As with the other spell cards, this one was bumped up in difficulty to 'intent-to-kill'.

Now, this was all on luck, reflexes, and everything Marisa needed.

The initial wave of knives was already endless from the witch's perspective, but well over the ten-thousand range of individual knives thrown and/or duplicated. A thousand more were added each time Sakuya decided to randomize the direction each knife was traveling.

"Marisa, this one is something I can't tell for sure, so you're on your own for a while. Just keep an eye on as many of them as you can in your general area and dodge like you have been doing" Alice shouted to her partner.

"I know that much, but damn... this might be hard for me already" Marisa complained as she began dodging as best she could.

Alice, in all this time, only had to use two bombs. Both times were to get Marisa out of a jam. Even though Alice was holding her own fine, the kleptomaniac tried numerous times to use her bomb to help out, but denied every time.

The rate Sakuya would up the number of knives flying around at random was roughly every 3 seconds. Unlike Remilia in another part of the mansion, Sakuya's spell cards kept the timer.

If Sakuya was randomizing a few of the knives in the area, then it would be manageable for Marisa. Unfortunately, this was the absolute best the head maid was throwing at them, without holding back, yet while conforming to the danmaku rules. She was randomizing ALL of the knives every 3 seconds. On top of that, making sure very few of the knives leave the area.

Marisa already was grazing the knives, whether she is aware of them or not, and Alice as well (the latter handling things better than the former).

Alice, of course, was able to shoot back at Sakuya through her dolls being scattered, of course also counting as 'kill-able'. She lost about 14 Shanghai dolls due to carelessness, but had plenty more in reserve.

To Marisa, Alice looked like she had EVERYTHING under control, including the fight, and was seriously starting to feel left out at being unable to do a thing, even though she wanted to help out.

Eventually, Sakuya's last spell card was taken care of after Marisa ignored Alice's denial of using 'bombs'. The spell card bomb used was the one she used thick and through for most of her life; Master Spark.

Sakuya, as per danmaku rules, stepped aside for Alice and Marisa to pass through.

"You win... please... save Ojou-sama... no... Save Remilia Scarlet... from herself... I beg you... I've already failed her by failing to stop you two... there's no way I can face her now" the head maid muttered in defeat.

"This is where you take over, Marisa. I'm not dealing with her and her pride. If she's going to continue being stubborn about things being her way, then I won't take part in helping her. YOU are going alone, Marisa. I'll take care of Sakuya and find out what I can" Alice ordered her partner.

Marisa couldn't argue, since she did make the compromise with Alice, and went ahead to join Reimu and Yukari in their fight against the Scarlet Devil in her full fury.

With Marisa going ahead, Alice began her questioning of Sakuya of what happened.

"I have an idea of what happened, but what caused Remilia to snap like that?" Alice asked Sakuya rather sternly.

Sakuya's eyes were empty, as though her will to live also died. However, she was alive.

"You know how Flandre... is the most important person... to Ojou-sama...? I was... afraid... to break the news... to Remilia... This happened... after her I told her... about Chi- I mean Meiling... Patchouli... and Koakuma... being killed first" Sakuya tried to explain through her helplessness.

"Did Remilia ask you... to reverse time... to save Flandre?"

Sakuya nodded 'yes'.

"If so, then why didn't you do it?"

Sakuya's already gloomy face went gloomier. "Reversing time... for the living... isn't as easy... as reversing time... for the inanimate... it's impossible to do that... I tried"

At this moment, Sakuya looked ready for death to take her away, away from this misery, away from this life.

No, it looked like Sakuya was ready to attempt suicide at any moment.

"I need to know; did Remilia tell you to kill anyone that came close to the mansion?" Alice asked the question she needed to know.

Sure enough, Sakuya nodded 'yes'

"Please... save Ojou-sama. If she dies... I can't bring myself to face her in the next life" Sakuya said this through tears. This was also the first time she lost her composure to anyone besides Remilia Scarlet on this level.

Alice simply nodded. "I'll bring back word about Remilia at the least, but I'm not the one who's going to help her; that will be up to Marisa, Reimu, and Yukari"

Sakuya, as best she could, tried to force a smile on her face and say 'thanks'.

Alice agreed to this one request, and flew ahead to where Marisa was heading.

"_I'm sorry, Ojou-sama. I've failed you in your time of need_"

Sakuya thought to herself as she laid back on the ground.

To her, being there for Remilia was her life. Not just that; it was being there for everyone in the mansion. To fail everyone was too big a mistake for her.

* * *

With Reimu and Yukari, they reached the end of the fifth spell card Remilia was using against them, and there seemed to be two more in reserve.

"God Art: Vampire Illusion!"

The name would probably be better fitting at 'God Art: Vampire's Hell' considering the situation Reimu and Yukari were in, and the difficulty.

Instead of simply throwing the large danmaku orbs outward, with a trail of smaller orbs in its path, it left the large orbs instead, and the initial large orbs didn't just disappear after leaving the trail; they bounced around, on top of the trail being waved off.

Had Remilia been calm in battle, she wouldn't have scaled all her spell cards to her fury.

"She's not holding back with the spell card she's using now, and I think you probably know which one she's going to use next" Yukari shouted to Reimu.

"Love Sign: Master Spark!"

Marisa's signature spell card blasted through a great number of danmaku that was obstructing Reimu and Yukari's movement. The damage to Remilia herself was little, but it helped to give Reimu and Yukari some breathing room (metaphorically speaking) for a few seconds.

"About time, Marisa" Reimu grunted as she heard her best friend arrive on the scene to help her out.

"I was trying to help Alice against Sakuya, but I couldn't leave her until just now after we stopped her" the witch retorted.

"Argue later about this, Reimu. Remilia's starting up again with that accursed fury of hers" Yukari told her partner and Marisa sternly.

As before, the danmaku bullets she fired were large, and the trail was large as well. The number of initial large danmaku orbs increased every couple seconds, making wiggle room much less frequent and less findable.

Yukari was struggling as hard as Marisa was in terms of finding safe spots. She wasn't as active or experienced as Reimu was, so they're roughly in the same boat.

Reimu had little problems with this, considering her history of danmaku fighting thus far.

Yukari threw her share of Danmaku, while having Ran sneak in a few more from some safe spots she gaps her to.

Marisa fared about as well as Yukari did, only a little more because of her speed. She did throw a few shots here and there, but was mostly avoiding the bullets.

Soon, the spell card broke, leaving Remilia with her last one. All the danmaku and lasers from before also disappeared.

She pulled it out, upscaling the difficulty to as high as she could, to match her anger (though misdirected).

"Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir!"

The spell card, upon being called, turned into the weapon written on it. A red spear in the shape of the actual spear from mythology, appeared in her hand.

"Damn it... I... Won't... Lose!" Remilia shouted as she flew dangerously fast towards Reimu.

Reimu and Yukari were right about Remilia using this spell card last.

Her anger was clearly in control, and reasoning with her is out of the question until she is subdued and calmed down enough to talk. This much Marisa realized right now.

Remilia was done playing by the rules; she now closed all distances and got up and personal for her last spell card. Her speed was definitely as fast as Marisa's, if not a little faster, but it was easy for Reimu to avoid. When the vampire was in range, she would try to stab Reimu with it, only to fail, and summon the Spear the Gungnir back to her hand whenever she threw it.

The good news is that Reimu, Yukari, and Marisa had as much room as they needed to avoid Reimilia's last spell card. The bad news... she's bringing the fight up and personal to the three of them, meaning it'll be hard for them to avoid.

"Yukari, bring out Ran, and have her help provide danmaku shots behind Remilia; she seems focused on me" Reimu told Yukari.

"Hey, Remi! Over here!" Marisa, without thinking this one through, decided to shift the attention of Remilia from Reimu to herself.

Much to the disappointment of Reimu, this actually worked.

Remilia stopped, and began chasing Marisa instead. Even in her rage, being made fun of had some effect.

"Time to whittle her last spell card away, Ran" Yukari said to her shikigami.

The eight-tail fox youkai began her work on providing some constant damage in danmaku to Remilia.

Although this sudden deviation from Reimu's plan wasn't idea, it seemed to be working for the most part.

Eventually, the spell card was broken, and Remilia was forced to surrender and calm down. However, by this time, Alice arrived to see the conclusion of this battle and outrage.

* * *

A while later, after the three of them (excluding Alice, since she wanted no part in bringing Remilia back to normal) were doing their best to bring the vampire back to her senses. It took a long while, but she did calm down.

Her anger became sorrow and in defeat.

"Finish me off, Reimu. I have no reason left to live. Flandre... she's gone... and so is the rest of my family" Remilia said with defeat.

"That's not why we're here, Remilia Scarlet" Reimu began rather sternly, "We're just here to figure out what happened so we know who did this to everyone. The murderer apparently struck here, just after you guys were warned, but we just want to know if you knew who did it"

Remilia, seemed to be cooperative, albeit depressed.

"I don't know. I just... became afraid when I heard China was killed easily. Even when Patchouli and Koakuma were killed, I started to become afraid... suspicious of the rest of those inside the mansion. Sakuya would never do a thing like this, and I trust her with my life. But..." Remilia explained, "I lost control when I heard the very person I wanted to protect... was murdered... in my own home... without my awareness, and without Sakuya being aware of it"

"Were you aware of anything after I told Meiling to relay to you about the murderer?" Marisa asked the vampire.

Like Sakuya, Remilia didn't know any more than Sakuya did; Flandre was way more powerful than Remilia is, and hearing her being killed so easy shook Remilia's pride for two reasons; first, her sister was curb-stomped and killed easily. Second, she knew that if even Flandre couldn't stand a chance against the killer, what chance did SHE have?

This explanation was just as they expected. Remilia, upon hearing news of her mansion's residents being killed off one by one, became frightened. However, each kill was done so fast, Remilia thought the murderer was beyond her level of fighting. This was reinforced when she heard Flandre was killed.

She went berserk because she was paranoid. Her thoughts were scattered, and in that confusion, she ordered Sakuya to kill anyone suspicious.

"Is what we gathered what happened, Remilia? We need to know so we can help deal with whoever did this to you" Reimu asked the vampire.

Remilia only nodded affirmatively.

"Well, Yukari. Did you 'invite' any new people into Gensokyo recently?" Marisa asked Yukari rather seriously.

Yukari, being herself, scoffed at the sudden spotlight on her. "How dare you! I only bring in humans who CAN adapt nicely to Gensokyo's human village. This also keeps enough humans to survive in Gensokyo. They ARE great with creativity, and that's one of many reasons I bring them here. But I do my homework on which humans are killers and which ones don't"

This ruled out Yukari, assuming she was being serious. Reimu CAN'T kill anyone; if she did, she'd lose credibility as Gensokyo's peace keeper, and would be a prime target from everyone.

Marisa knew Alice quite well; she kept to herself, and was kind to others for the most part, but had issues with her mother, Shinki, due to the goddess's method of parenting.

Marisa herself wouldn't dare consider killing in her petty thievery of nick-knacks and books.

"Since this is all settled down now, I'm going to let Sakuya know that Remilia is back to her senses and then head home" Alice stated before flying off to where Sakuya was.

"Come to us if you can help us figure out who killed your sister. Just take a rest right now until you can get your thoughts straight" Marisa offered her, "I'm serious, Remi. This isn't the right time for my antics of stealing things when there's a major incident with these murders"

Remilia, now back to her usual self after her paranoia attack, stood up and dusted her dress off.

"Very well. I'll consider your proposal. I will do what I can with Sakuya in the meantime after properly seeing off everyone killed" she replied to them, "Though it can't be today; I need time to accept the loss of Flandre before I can help you"

Yukari, Reimu, and Marisa all nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for understanding, Remilia. I promise you, I will find whoever is killing everyone, and make sure they pay" Reimu told her sternly.

"You better get some rest, shrine maiden, kleptomaniac, and whimsical troll. I'll catch up with you all tomorrow... after I get some rest myself" Remilia replied as she retreated to her room.

With this incident resolved, the trio can now return their focus to the murderer, wherever he or she is.

* * *

Just as the incident resolvers left the SDM, two sets of screams echoed throughout the SDM area; the first was Remilia's, and the one after was Sakuya's. Unfortunately, this occurred as soon as the four incident resolvers were out of earshot.

The only ones who heard these screams were the fairies, and this caused them even more fear.

* * *

(Author's notes: I was asked why I chose to write this darkfic; the answer is simple: trying out a new genre. As I said above, this is NOT a hatefic; it's a darkfic)


End file.
